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Two
The Mean 15 racer from
Schatz swept into the lead Saturday night and weaved through lapped traffic,
darting high, low and even right through the middle of the track to capture the
checkered flag in the 40-lap feature, topping a field of 55 cars only a few
hours after getting the best of a 39-car field in
Pole-sitter Terry McCarl shot out to a quick lead but Schatz motored to the
front as the two came around Turn 4. Schatz screamed toward Turn 1 in front of
the packed grandstands and carried his momentum to the top on the racy 1/3-mile
oval.
The two took different lines, but Schatz was so smooth through traffic he was
able to extend his advantage on each lap. Then McCarl was changing lines with
nine laps to go to try to hold off Joey Saldana when he caught a barrier below
the bottom groove heading into Turn 2. The contact was enough to send McCarl to
the pits, giving Saldana a chance to go after Schatz in the Central Merchant
Services JEI. But Schatz was strong all night and with a buffer of lapped cars
between his machine and Saldana’s car, Schatz again was able to charge out and
hold on in traffic for the first
Schatz’s third victory of the season helped extend his lead in the championship
standings to 49 points.
Saldana, who started sixth, worked through traffic to post his fourth top-five
run of the season while Craig Dollansky came from 11th on the grid to finish
third in the Karavan Trailers Maxim for his second consecutive top five. Jac
Haudenschild pushed his Wright One Construction Maxim right off the wall to
finish fourth while Daryn Pittman surged all the way from 23rd to fifth by
running the high groove in the Titan Garages & Carports Maxim.
Brooke Tatnell raced from 21st to sixth in the Garlic Jim’s Pizza/Castrol Eagle while Jason Solwold
in the City Wide Insulation Maxim, Sammy Swindell in the Volcano Joe’s Coffee
Maxim, Chad Kemenah in the Underground Utilities Inc. Eagle and Kerry Madsen in
the TK Concrete Cool rounded out the top 10.
Despite how smoothly he was pushing through the traffic, Schatz never relaxed
during the 40-lap event.
“I always race as hard as I can without getting myself in trouble,” said
Schatz, the 1997 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year.
“Some nights you just start closer to the front than others. We were lucky
enough to qualify well tonight and they drew the “0” for the Dash. It went
against us four times that way, it’s about time it went our direction.
“We had the best car and I just kept going. I didn’t make any foolish mistakes.
The racecar was good and could go anywhere.”
Reworking the racetrack following qualifying events proved to be worth it as
cars raced on nearly every inch of the high-banked oval.
“It was a question to everybody as to what the racetrack was going to do,”
Schatz said. “They got all that rubber off and redid the track. I can’t thank
them enough for doing that. It made a great, slick surface. You could run the
top, the bottom. It really made lapped traffic fun. It made me utilize parts of
the racetrack I never expected would happen here. I was able to split guys in
the middle of the track when they were on top and bottom. When you can do that,
you know you’re racecar is really good. Hopefully we can take this momentum to
Eldora and be this way next weekend.”
Saldana is excited about the continued success of his new team on the
“From starting sixth, McCarl, Sammy and I were racing pretty hard for second,”
said Saldana, a Mean 15 racer from
“We had a good car. I couldn’t get through lapped traffic as good as Schatz, he
was really strong tonight. He’s been doing this for quite a while so he knows
what he needs. We’ve got a new team and we’re trying to be competitive every
night, have top fives. Then you’ll be in that league that Schatz is in right
now. If we keep this up and learn from what we did tonight, hopefully we can
build on this for the rest of the year.”
Saldana, who finished third in points in 2003, is pushing hard to better that
mark in the this season. His runner-up finish Saturday
night moved him into second in the championship standings.
“For me, I’ve finished third in points before,” Saldana said. “I want to beat
Schatz or whoever just to know I’ve done better than what I did in the past.
This is a good opportunity this year for someone to capitalize on their ability
and their team. For us, it’s an all-new team and Schatz has been doing it for a
while. For us to come out here and just be competitive with Schatz is a sign of
what’s to come from this team.”
Dollansky is in a similar situation. He has assembled a new crew this season
with Eric Prutzman, Troy Dollansky and Matt Hill and
clearly this weekend they made significant strides toward contending for a
title.
“After
“I’m definitely feeling the momentum coming on. Things are clicking. We’re
getting some things figured out with the racecar and the shocks and different
things. It’s a long season. We have more than 70 races to go. We’ll just keep
working hard at it and see what we can do.”
Haudenschild continues to try to deliver a victory to car owner Rick Wright. On
Saturday, Haudenschild was in his element, using the wall as the cushion as he
pushed his machine to the limit and came away with his third top-five of the
season.
“It was fast all over,” said Haudenschild, of
With as much traffic and as wild as the feature was Saturday night, Pittman
turned in one of the most incredible runs this season when he put his machine
on the top and charged along the wall from 23rd to fifth, posting his fourth
top-five this season.
“I don’t know if we’ve ever finished out of the top five here so we had to keep
that up,” said Pittman, a Mean 15 racer from
Eldora Speedway is one of the most intimidating tracks on the circuit. A high-banked half-mile oval where
“I’ve been around long enough to know that a guy doesn’t have to be confident,
but I know when I come into these races that I’m a factor to win,” Schatz said.
“It doesn’t matter whether or not I’ve run good at Eldora in the past, I’m
going to Eldora next week and I’m going to be one of the guys to beat. We know
we’ve got our motors running well. We just have to make the right decisions.
We’re excited to get there and hopefully put some victories up on the big half
mile.”
Following the back-to-back events this weekend at Batesville Speedway and I-55
Raceway, the
The
I-55 RACEWAY NOTEBOOK
• FAST QUALIFIER: Terry McCarl paced the 55-car field in the
• VICTORY PARADE: Donny Schatz’s victory Saturday night at I-55 Raceway
was his third
• 1/3-MILE WINNERS: I-55 Raceway is a 1/3-mile oval. Donny Schatz is the
first winner this season on a 1/3-mile oval. In 2005, the
• QUALIFYING EVENTS: Terry McCarl and Donny Schatz captured the dashes.
… Paul McMahan won the B-main. … Heat race winners included Daryn Pittman, Rob
Chaney, Sammy Swindell and Jason Solwold. … Tommy
Worley Jr. won the C-main. … D-main winners included Jim Moughan
and A.J. Bruns
• ON TELEVISION: The Outdoor Channel will air at
• ON THE WEB: The Official
• UP NEXT: Following the back-to-back events this weekend at Batesville Speedway
and I-55 Raceway, the
• LISTEN ONLINE: If fans can’t get to a track to see the series, they
can experience the excitement of the
• SPONSOR SUPPORT: The
Qualifying
1) Terry McCarl, McCarl 24, 11.227
2) Donny Schatz, Schatz 15, 11.259
3) Paul McMahan, Stewart 20, 11.275
4) Randy Hannagan, TH Racing 1X, 11.495
5) Jac Haudenschild, Wright 35, 11.515
6) Justin Henderson, Oswalt D1, 11.572
7) Paul May, May 71M, 11.598
8) Chad Meyer, Meyer 1W, 11.610
9) Tim Montgomery, Webb Racing 51, 11.612
10) Kaley Gharst, Gharst 44G, 11.613
11) Sammy Swindell, Forbrook 5, 11.677
12) Joey Saldana, Kahne 9, 11.690
13) Jason Solwold, Carnahan R19, 11.745
14) Greg Wilson, Warnimont 20W, 11.769
15) Craig Dollansky, Karavan 7, 11.778
16) Kevin Swindell, Swindell 1, 11.845
17) Kerry Madsen, VerMeer 55, 11.850
18) Jeremy Campbell, Campbell 10C, 11.868
19)
20) Bill Rose, Rose 6, 11.929
21) Jesse Hockett, VKCC Motorsports 75, 11.935
22) Brooke Tatnell, Rush Racing 8, 11.992
23) Rob Chaney, Martin 36, 12.063
24) Daryn Pittman, Titan Racing USA 21, 12.143
25) Travis Rilat, Threatt
29, 12.158
26) Tim St. Arnold, Williams 7W, 12.174
27) Chad Kemenah, Kemenah 15K, 12.233
28) Tom Busch, Busch 4B, 12.257
29) Larry Ball, Jr., Van Gorp 5J, 12.276
30) Mark Dobmeier, Dobmeier
13, 12.310
31) Danny Lasoski, Roth 83, 12.367
32) Dion Hindi, Hindi 11D, 12.481
33)
34) Steve Short, Short 8S, 12.575
35) Natalie Sather, Sather 94S, 12.610
36) Joey Montgomery, Montgomery 21C, 12.679
37) Tim Vandervere, Vandervere
7V, 12.705
38) Adam Jones, Jones 1A, 12.709
39) Tommy Worley, Jr., Barton Motorsports 97, 12.741
40) Kelly Kinser, Kinser 4K, 12.763
41) Becca Anderson, Woodring 19, 12.773
42) Tiffany Wyzard, Wyzard
5W, 13.117
43) Jim Moughan, Moughan
1M, 13.176
44) A.J. Bruns, Bruns 44,
13.192
45) Ricky Logan, Beck 17, 13.273
46) Jimmy Hurley, Hurley 35H, 13.332
47) Jesse Giannetto, Bulldog Motorsports D1X, 13.354
48) Daniel Adler, Adler 50, 13.367
49) Curtis Boyer, Boyer 72, 13.425
50) Tom Dickerman, Dickerman
57D, 13.476
51) Tony Bruce, Jr., Bruce 18B, 13.546
52) Doc Sloan, Sloan D12, 13.675
53) James Mosher, Mosher 12M, 13.853
54) Bobby Mincer, Mincer
15M, 14.176
55) Patrick Budde, Budde
90, No time
First D-main (6 laps, top 2 finishers transferred to C-main)
1) Jim Moughan
2) Becca Anderson
3) Curtis Boyer [$100]
4) Ricky Logan [$100]
5) James Mosher [$100]
6) Tony Bruce, Jr. [$100]
7) Patrick Budde (DNS) [$100]
Second D-main (6 laps, top 2 finishers transferred to C-main)
1) A.J. Bruns
2) Tiffany Wyzard
3) Tom Dickerman [$100]
4) Daniel Adler [$100]
5) Jesse Giannetto [$100]
6) Doc Sloan [$100]
7) Bobby Mincer [$100]
8) Jimmy Hurley [$100]
First Heat Race (10 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Daryn Pittman
2) Kerry Madsen
3) Terry McCarl
4) Tim Montgomery
5) Kevin Swindell
6)
7) Larry Ball, Jr.
8) Tim Vandervere
9) Chad Meyer
10) Travis Rilat
Second Heat Race (10 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Rob Chaney
2) Jeremy Campbell
3) Donny Schatz
4) Craig Dollansky
5) Kaley Gharst
6) Mark Dobmeier
7) Tim St. Arnold
8) Adam Jones
9) Paul May
10) Steve Short
Third Heat Race (10 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Sammy Swindell
2)
3) Brooke Tatnell
4) Greg Wilson
5) Justin Henderson
6) Danny Lasoski
7) Chad Kemenah
8) Paul McMahan
9) Tommy Worley, Jr.
10) Natalie Sather
Fourth Heat Race (10 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Jason Solwold
2) Jesse Hockett
3) Joey Saldana
4) Jac Haudenschild
5) Bill Rose
6) Randy Hannagan
7) Dion Hindi
8) Joey Montgomery
9) Tom Busch
10) Kelly Kinser
C-main (10 laps, top 2 finishers transferred to B-main)
1) Tommy Worley, Jr.
2) Jim Moughan
3) Adam Jones [$125]
4) Becca Anderson [$100]
5) Natalie Sather [$100]
6) Tim Vandervere [$100]
7) Abe Sherwood [$100]
8) Joey Montgomery (DNS) [$100]
9) Kelly Kinser (DNS) [$100]
10) Tiffany Wyzard (DNS) [$100]
First Dash (6 laps, finishing order determined inside first 6 rows of
A-feature)
1) Terry McCarl
2) Tim Montgomery
3) Jac Haudenschild
4) Sammy Swindell
5) Jason Solwold
6) Craig Dollansky
Second Dash (6 laps, finishing order determined outside first 6 rows of
A-feature)
1) Donny Schatz
2) Kaley Gharst
3) Joey Saldana
4) Greg Wilson
5) Justin Henderson
6) Kevin Swindell
B-main (12 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Paul McMahan
2) Randy Hannagan
3) Paul May
4) Chad Kemenah
5) Tim St. Arnold [$200]
6) Mark Dobmeier [$180]
7) Dion Hindi [$175]
8) Tom Busch [$160]
9) Larry Ball, Jr. [$150]
10) Danny Lasoski [$150]
11)
12) Jim Moughan [$150]
13) Chad Meyer [$150]
14) Tommy Worley, Jr. [$150]
15) Travis Rilat [$150]
16) Steve Short (DNS) [$150]
A-main (40 laps)
1) Donny Schatz [$10,000]
2) Joey Saldana [$5,500]
3) Craig Dollansky [$3,200]
4) Jac Haudenschild [$2,800]
5) Daryn Pittman [$2,500]
6) Brooke Tatnell [$2,300]
7) Jason Solwold [$2,200]
8) Sammy Swindell [$2,100]
9) Chad Kemenah [$2,050]
10) Kerry Madsen [$2,000]
11) Kevin Swindell [$1,500]
12) Paul McMahan [$1,200]
13) Kaley Gharst [$1,100]
14) Greg Wilson [$1,050]
15) Randy Hannagan [$1,000]
16)
17) Justin Henderson [$800]
18) Rob Chaney [$800]
19) Paul May [$800]
20) Jeremy Campbell [$800]
21) Terry McCarl [$800]
22) Jesse Hockett [$800]
23) Tim Montgomery [$800]
24) Bill Rose [$800]
Lap leaders: Donny Schatz 1-40
Rk. / Driver / Driver Points / Team Points / $ / Back
/ Wins / Top 5 / Top 10
1 / Donny Schatz / 1162 / 1162 /
$48,650 / 0 / 3 / 6 / 6
2 / Joey Saldana / 1113 / 1113 / $29,000 / -49 / 1 / 4 / 7
3 / Terry McCarl / 1098 / 1098 / $21,000 / -64 / 0 / 5 / 6
4 / Daryn Pittman / 1088 / 1088 / $17,650 / -74 / 0 / 4 / 7
5 / Jac Haudenschild / 1070 / 1070 / $18,250 / -92 / 0 / 3 / 5
6 / Brooke Tatnell / 1068 / 1068 / $18,500 / -94 / 0 / 2 / 5
7 / Craig Dollansky / 1064 / 1064 / $16,800 / -98 / 0 / 2 / 6
8 / Jeremy Campbell / 1019 / 1019 / $14,800 / -143 / 0 / 1 / 3
9 / Chad Kemenah / 1014 / 1014 / $21,400 / -148 / 1 / 2 / 5
10 / Greg Wilson / 1003 / 1003 / $11,100 / -159 / 0 / 0 / 3
11 / Justin Henderson / 989 / 989 / $11,050 / -173 / 0 / 0 / 2
12 / Randy Hannagan / 975 / 975 / $12,460 / -187 / 0 / 3 / 3
13 / Kaley Gharst / 863 /
863 / $6,650 / -299 / 0 / 0 / 0
14 / Sammy Swindell / 840 / 840 / $21,350 / -322 / 1 / 2 / 6
15 / Bill Rose / 804 / 804 / $5,160 / -358 / 0 / 0 / 0
16 /
17 / Kevin Swindell / 728 / 728 / $8,400 / -434 / 0 / 0 / 2
18 / Dion Hindi / 713 / 713 / $3,230 / -449 / 0 / 0 /
0
19 / Rob Chaney / 665 / 935 / $9,260 / -227 / 0 / 1 / 2
20 / Becca Anderson / 662 / 662 / $2,585 / -500 / 0 /
0 / 0
STANDINGS NOTE: The Martin Motorsports No. 36 NOS Energy
Drink/Mafia Motorsports Maxim is 13th in owner’s points. Rob Chaney is
currently replacing injured Mean 15 racer Jason Martin.